


Summer love

by lwtmehome



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, MildZaynHere, larry stylinson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-05-01 19:44:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5218421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lwtmehome/pseuds/lwtmehome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My perfect summer was taken away from me, but I think I got something a lot more precious in return. </p>
<p>Or, where Louis' summer plans change and he goes to help his 'nana', and, surprisingly meets Harry. A perfect summer love, RIGHT?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how many chapters there's gonna be. But, stay tuned.

THIS IS LOUIS POINT OF VIEW (unless I say differently) 

I’m sure everyone has had those summers. At least one of them. And if not, then they definitely should have it. Or not, depends on if you want to get your heart broken to thousands of pieces. Someone might like it, you never know. 

By ’those summers’, I mean the kind of summers when you’ve had all this cool stuff planned out for months and months, but then someone – like your mom or something – comes along, and decides that it’s just better for you to do something else. At first you’re pissed as fuck – pardon me my language – but then, something happens, something that will top your crappy plans by million times. Of course you don’t realise this right away, the feeling grows on you, you know? Maybe you don’t. Maybe you’ve never had that summer. 

Well, I did. 

Me and my best mate Liam, we had our whole summer planned out, which you probably already figured out, smart as you are. Interrailing in central Europe, doesn’t sound so bad does it now? I was hyped, to say the least. Hyped to see the Pisa tower, hyped to feel the energy rushing through my veins as we would party among the girls in Amsterdam, even hyped to see the fucking Eiffel tower and it’s lights, even though I’m not that romantic of a person. 

So yes, I was excited. But something happened; my mother. I love my family. All my six siblings, my mother and Mark. They’re real nice, yes. But I wasn’t as much as pleased when my mother informed me, two days before the destined trip to begin, that I was being sent to my grandmother’s house, to help her. She had fallen down, and broken her arm. Now, now. I love my grandma too, I really do. And in any other given situation, I’d be really glad to spent the summer at hers, no doubt about that. But this wasn’t any given situation. This was the summer. 

The summer when mine and Liam’s lives were supposed to start. The glorious university life would be waiting for us after the summer, and this was supposed to be something for us to share, since we were attending different unis. The dream was smashed into tiny pieces on that July morning, though. I’m over it now, but back at that time, it felt like the carpet was swiped right from under my feet. I wasn’t happy, at all. 

_”What? Tell me you’re kidding, ’cause I don’t have anyone to go with if you’re ditching me Tommo,” Liam’s voice showed the familiar anguish, like every time something didn’t go as planned. I mean, Liam’s a doll, really, he is, and I think he would’ve been the best possible traveling buddy out there, because he does know how to let go, how to make a night of it, but first, he needed to plan it a little. Just a little._

_”I know Li, I’m sorry, but my mum’s sending me to my nana’s house. She broke her arm and needs a hand around there,” I let out a frustrated sigh, falling down on to my bed. I kicked my feet around a little while waiting for Liam to collect himself on the other side of the phone._

_”Your nana? Louis, this is straight out of a shitty romantic movie, where the girl gets sent to country side to learn her lesson, and falls for the gorgeous cowboy and all the other plans are forgotten, friends too. Do you want that?” Liam’s voice was very much accusing, but I still had to stifle a laugh. He gets dramatic at times._

_”Listen Payno. You got a few details wrong there. Starting with the fact that I am a boy. Also, I’m not going to forget you, okay? This is a shitty situation, I’m not denying that, but nana has no one else,” I emphazised the last few words, maybe to make Liam understand, maybe to tell myself that I really had no other option. I once had tried going against my mother’s will, by running off to London with my mates to see this concert, even though she had precisely told me that I was not allowed to go with my grades being what they were (are). She shit flipped. And my mum is a really, really calm person. She yelled at me, telling me how irresponsible I was, etc, etc, and I don’t want to witness that one again. She also didn’t speak to me for two weeks. It was quite a handy situation._

_Liam grunted on the other side of the phone, obviously conteplating wether to throw the phone out of the window or just jump himself.  
”This was supposed to be our summer Louis. You’re leaving to London and I’m going to Manchester. We’ll never see each other again,” Liam screeched and I had to move the phone further away from my ear._

_”Aren’t you being a tad too dramatic over here, Liam? We’ll see each other, don’t worry. We’re not that far away from each other anyways,” I tried my best to sound assuring, but my voice terribly gave it out._

_”Three hours and fifty-four minutes drive Louis. That’s the same as me living in the moon and you on the Earth. The same as I’d freaking move to Finland and you’d stay here, strolling around,” Liam was probably hyperventilating right now, and it kind of concerned me. Kind of._

_”What the fuck is Finland Liam? Does that even exist?” I snorted, trying to buy some time. I just had to find the right words._

_”It’s a nordic country Louis. North. No, not in Siberia, before you get to ask. Stop stalling, just say what you want,” Liam was grumbling and I knew he was utterly pissed off right now. But honestly, it wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t go with him. I don’t want to risk my life._

_”Look, Liam. This is definitely upsetting me too, mate. But I can’t leave right now. I already threw a tantrum with my mum, it’s no use. I’ll make it up to you, yeah?” I spoke with a hint of desperation in my voice and I think that’s what did it for Liam._

_”I know. But you got to come home as soon as you can, promise. I need to see you before we’ll go to our separate ways,” Liam was pretending to cry and it sounded ugly to say at least._

_”Right, right. I’ll come back as soon as I can, don’t worry babe,” I grinned slyly, as I picked on my nails, hearing Liam start his preaching. See, ’babe’, was something Liam didn’t want to be called. I have absolutely no idea why, apparently it was meant to used when talking about a chick, not about a masculine man, like himself._

_As Liam’s rant went on and on, I found myself thinking about my other friends, ones that I wouldn’t be seeing after summer. Not as much as I’m used to anyways.  
The first to pop in to my mind was Zayn. The quiet lad I spent my lunch breaks with, whenever I wasn’t feeling like eating, I mean. He made a great company when I felt like grabbing a cigarette or two. Most of my friends don’t even know I hang out with him, but he’s honestly one of my best friends. I’ll never tell him this though, our relationship isn’t the same way as mine and Liam’s. We talk about everything, usually joking, but still. Zayn and me, it’s not a possibility even. But we didn’t have to talk to be close, that’s the weird thing about Zayn. He calms me down. He’s a free spirit though. He’ll start working for an advertisement company, not even considering universities. He’ll probably end up in London as well, but I know he’ll be one of those people you just run in to on one of those mornings when you’re supposed to head to school and you’re already late, but seeing him makes you forget about the rush and you’ll grab a coffee with him. And it’ll be like you just saw him yesterday even though it’s been months. I like that. _

_As a contrast to Zayn, my thoughts started to round around my other best mate, Niall. A total opposite. Such a happy lad, no doubt. I love him to bits and pieces. He’s one of my favorite people on this earth, even though we’ve known each other only for few years. Niall’s heading to Oxford, he’s a smart one. You wouldn’t guess, just by looking at him. Or even by talking to him. He’s such an Irish elf. Our humor is alike and he knows how to make me laugh whenever something’s getting me down._

_And that’s when it hit me._

_”Liam,” I rudely interrupted my friend’s lecture over the ’babe’ thing._

_”What? Were you not listening? ’Cause if you weren’t, I’m not going to repeat myself. I just talked for three minutes straight and I think my voice is cracking,” Liam’s voice was now just muttering, but I heard him._

_”What is wrong with you?” I asked in disbelief, but didn’t give him a chance to answer. ”I know who you can go with. The interrail. Ask Niall.”  
It was silent for about twenty seconds, before Liam just burst out laughing. _

_”You kidding right? We’ll kill each other. I love Niall and all, but Louis that’s crazy,” there was amusement in his voice, but I knew he was giving it a serious thought. So I decided to leave it at that._

_”Fine. Suit yourself,” I shrugged even though Liam couldn’t see me. With this I was pretty sure I made up for my mum’s mistake, so I ended the call, only to realise that even if Liam’s problem was solved, it didn’t mean that mine was. I still had to spend most of my summer in Holmes Chapel, a place that I barely knew anything about, since my grandma had just moved there two years ago after my granddad passed away. What a great summer to be._

And that is how it all began. This was at the start of July, back when I had no idea what the summer would hold for me. I was certain that my summer was going to be the worst one I had ever experienced. Turns out, I was wrong. Though I learned that I usually am. 

Anyways. This was one of those summers. A summer that changes lives. Though maybe it wasn’t just about the summer, I shouldn’t give all the credit to the summer, because these events could’ve taken place basically in any other season, but it just happened to be a summer. The real credit, that, I would have to give to my angel, Harry.


	2. First day

For having a broken arm, my grandma was definitely full of life. She kept fussing around me for the frist few hours, asking about my school, about my plans for the future, about my non-existing girlfriend and basically anything that popped to her mind. Then I finally had the courage to open my mouth and stop her questions. My grandma isn’t the usual thing, though. I’ve always known it, but during the summer I finally started to understand her a little better. I think she understood me too. 

_”So, no girlfriend then?”_

_I had to roll my eyes, since this was a question I had answered to a couple of times already._

_”No, nana. I don’t have a girlfriend, I told you already.” I was still smiling, because I had always loved my nana._

_”I know, I know. I was just wondering if there would be anything more to it,” she had a familiar twinkle in her eyes, the one she has whenever she knew something that the others didn’t know. But I had learned a long time ago that she wouldn’t tell what was on her mind, even if I asked about it._

_”Well, there isn’t nana,” I said easily, taking a sip out of my tea. Nana let out a hearty laugh and placed her hand on mine. I saw the fondness in her eyes, while she gave me her best smile yet. I thought that she must be happy to see me, and felt a little bad for being so hesitant about this all._

_”Louis dear, I know this isn’t ideal, I know you would rather be with your friends, but don’t knock it until you try it, okay? There’s a lot to do around here, a lot of people to meet,” she was still smiling and I really wanted to believe her, but it wasn’t that easy. I gave her a tight smile in return, hoping I wouldn’t disappoint her._

My feelings on that first day were negative, if you want to put it nicely. My grandmother gave me a list of things to do. Apparently the house had to be painted that summer, and I still have no idea why, but this was something she insisted on. She also wanted me to take care of her garden, which absolutely terrified me because I didn’t know a single thing about gardening. I was very much afraid I’d kill all her plants. This is where Harry comes in. 

_When I woke up on that Monday morning, it was sunny. Something I wasn’t expecting, but something that my nana was definitely excited about.  
”Good morning dear. Here’s your tea. Did you sleep well? Was it too hot at the attick? Hope it’s not too dusty up there,” her tone was varying from excited to concerned and then back excited again. _

_”I slept well, don’t worry nana. I really like it,” I smiled at her and took the tea out of her hands. I wasn’t lying when I complimented the attick though. It’s all wooden and had surprisingly good sound proofing. I like my privacy and also, nana wakes up super early, like six a.m., and I don’t have to wake up to her rustling downstairs._

_”Well good. If you like, you can decorate and re-construct it. It’s your room for two months,” Nana smiled and sipped her tea. I nodded and already started building up some ideas for the room._

_”What do I have to do today?” I asked, wondering if nana wanted me to work all the time, or if I had some time to myself. I’d really like to get to know Holmes Chapel more. From what I’ve gathered, it’s a really nice town._

_”You’re not here to work Louis. I have some tasks for you, but you should definitely get to know the locals too and enjoy yourself. I think you’ll find some good friends if you try a little,” nana was basically ushering me out of the house, and I had to laugh._

_”Nana, calm down. I’ll go out, but is there somethings I could do today? I came here to help you, didn’t I?” I was surprised I had managed to keep my language so neat for this long. I can be quite expressive at times. Maybe it’s because of nana._

_”Well, if you insist, then you could root out the weeds from the flowerbed over there,” she pointed at the bed few feet away from us, ”and then you could do the shopping. I’ll do the shopping list and then I’ll head out to meet my friends,” nana was smiling while speaking, waving her hands around. I nodded along and told her that it sounded good to me._

_”Good then. Start with the weeds. I know it might take a while for you to get the hang of it,” she laughed before retreating back in to the house._

_I huffed. Nice. Even my own grandma was laughing at me. Somehow I had a huge urge to prove to my nana that I actually could do it, root the weeds, I mean. I rolled up my sleeves and walked to the back yard. It wasn’t too big, but it had a one of those swings that fit two and a sand box, something I hadn’t expected. I figured the house had belonged to a family with children before nana had bought it. In the back, there was a shack where I headed. The wooden shanty was a mess inside, another thing I wasn’t expecting. My nana’s an organized person, and this was far from it. I spotted, what I assumed were, the gardening tools hanging on the back wall. At first I tried to slither in, dodging all the objects – such as rakes and a lawn mow – but soon discovered it useless. I scratched my neck, and wondered how on earth was I supposed to get the things. Then I just dove in. I got a few scratches on my arms, but finally reached my destination._

_Getting out of the shack proved to be a lot more easier task somehow, and I wasn’t complaining. I made sure to close the door properly after me, and then finally got to work. Well, tried to. I stared at the flowers and weeds, not even knowing which ones were which. I let out a frustrated grunt, and thought about Liam. I could be in a plane or a ship with him right now, but I wasn’t. Instead Niall was. They had promised to sent me some postcards along the way. I was a little bitter, but I would never admit it._

_I shook my head, deciding that swelling in those thoughts wouldn’t get me anywhere. If Niall and Liam were to have fun, then at least I could show them that I had learned something new. I started raking the dirt, trying to root out the green things, hoping they were the right ones._

_It was nicely quiet and I was actually beginning to enjoy the job. Or maybe it was just the calmness around. It wasn’t like I lived in a busy city myself, but somehow the atmosphere was different around here. I allowed myself to close my eyes for a bit and just sniff the summer air, that for once wasn’t that humid._

_”Excuse me?”_

_And I nearly shitted my pants. I didn’t though. Instead I fell down on my arse, from the crouching position I was in.  
”Oh, I’m so sorry,” the voice was deep and slow, definitely belonged to a guy. I turned around, annoyed from the interruption. (Also a little from the embarrassement.) I got up from the ground, sweeping my pants a little, and finally lifted my gaze to meet the stranger. _

_”Hi,” he smiled sheepishly, waving his hand in a small movement. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve never seen anyone like him. I guess he wasn’t anything special with his looks, but he glowed._

_I don’t have a better word for it, but he had this feeling to him, that I couldn’t describe. He had long brown curly hair and bright green eyes. His lips were plump and he had small dimples just next to the corners of his mouth. I had a feeling that those dimples could be deeper too._

_He annoyed me._

_”What? Who are you?” my tone was a little harsher than I intended it to be, but I felt a little indimitated by this tall boy. Well, not indimitated, but something like it. It was a foreign feeling to me._

_He seemed taken a back by my words, and actually took a step back. His brows furrowed as he put his hands around himself, as to protect himself. I felt a little guilty, but said nothing._

_”I’m Harry. I came to see if Margaret’s home,” his voice was a lot more quiet now, and I thought that I must have really scared him. Or at least make him uncomfortable. I gave him one more once over, before sighing. He was almost pouting now._

_”Uh, I’ll check.”_

_To be honest, I just wanted the boy gone. He made me feel uneasy and that wasn’t something I was looking for right now. He – Harry, was it? – nodded, and I walked to the front door. I opened it and checked if nana’s shoes were still there. They weren’t. I figured she must’ve left out already, I did spent some time in the shack.  
I closed the door and went back to Harry, shaking my head. _

_”She’s already headed out,” I then said, crossing my arms on my chest. Harry seemed upset when he heard my words, and I wondered what it was he wanted to tell my nana.  
The silence that followed was awkward, well to me at least. Harry seemed a little out of it, biting down on his bottom lip. For some unknown reason I couldn’t tear my eyes off of his teeth chewing on the plump rosy lip. I had to gulp, and actually force myself to look the other way. _

_”Can I help you?” I then found myself asking. Unplanned of course._

_Even Harry seemed surprised. He lifted his gaze from his feet and a small smile made its way on his lips._

_”I don’t think so, I’ll just come back later. But thanks for asking,” this was the longest I’ve heard him talk, and gosh, he was a slow talker. It kind of irritated me. I’ve always been quick to get to the point when talking, or basically with anything._

_”Yeah, sure,” I waved my hand a little and then walked past Harry, crouching back down, starting to rake the flowerbed again. I figured he’d know his way out._

_”Are you trying to kill the flowers?”_

_I shut my eyes tightly. Wasn’t he supposed to go away?_

_When I turned my head, I saw that his expression was actually really, really worried. Was this guy for serious?_

_”Uh, no?” it came out a lot more hesitant than I wanted it to, but at least Harry started smiling again._

_”Trying to root out the weeds then?” he walked a little closer, fiddling with his fingers, trying to peek at the bed. I furrowed my eyebrows. I didn’t like where this was going._

_”Yeah,” I simply stated, not wanting to continue the conversation. Harry seemed to sense my mood, as he stopped smiling and looked around us, obviously pondering wether to say something more._

_”You’re doing it wrong,” he whispered, just when I had turned around to continue killing the flowers, as he had pointed out.  
I turned to look at him again, and he looked like he was constipated. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. He seemed to be so serious. I wondered if I could figure this guy out like I usually did with people, pretty quickly even. I knew I couldn’t do it with him, right away._

_”Uh, I’ve never done this before,” I then admitted, unwillingly. I started picking the already dead plants away from the flowerbed, not wanting to face Harry._

_Soon enough, he crouched beside me, stretching his hand out towards the tools. When I hesitated, he rolled his eyes and grabbed them from me. He nudged me a little, so that I moved a little left, giving him more space._

_We spoke nothing, as he raked the bed, leaving behind the ripped out weeds. I picked them up, without asking him and piled them up next to my feet. This continued on for some time, until Harry spoke._

_”You never told me your name.” He didn’t do as much as glance at me, he was so concertrated on the weeds._

_I snorted._

_”I don’t even know you. Why would I tell you my name?” I questioned, not sure at all why I couldn’t tell him my name. I’m not that type of a person at all. He furrowed his brows, still not looking at me._

_”I told you mine. Isn’t it just fair for you to tell me yours?” he had to pull harder on this one, the weed, to get it out. He almost fell backwards – much like I had when he had startled me – but I balanced him by placing my hand on his back._

_He blushed a little, but finally looked at me. His dimples were showing again, he smiled._

_”I’m Louis,” I said, when our eyes had been locked for ten seconds at least. He smiled even more._

_”Louis. Louis,” he kept staring me in the eye, smiling happily, ”Louis.”_

_I rolled my eyes and broke the eye contact at the same time._

_”What are you doing?” I asked, trying to keep the laugh in. I didn’t succeed all that well, because a chuckle escaped my lips. He shrugged._

_”I’m trying it out. How do you spell it?” Harry went back to rooting out the weeds, still smiling and silently whispering my name._

_”L-O-U-I-S, Louis, not Lewis,” I explained, keeping a close eye on him. His smile was a little contagious, I noticed, as the corner of my mouth was slowly twitching up._

_”I thought so. It’s a really nice name, Louis,” Harry said, nodding to himself. I shook my head slowly, and then went back to picking up the ripped out weeds, and piling them up.  
Harry actually helped me do the whole job, and it was done rather quickly. After that, we just sat there on the grass, enjoying the sun. We didn’t speak much, and I actually kind of liked it. I wouldn’t tell this to Harry though. Not in a million years, I would._

_Suddenly though, the peace was broken. Harry sort of let out a loud scream, making me fall backwards for the second time that day._

_”What the hell?” I screeched myself, but the taller one was already scrambling up._

_”I’m late, oh shit I’m late! Sorry Louis, I have to go, nice meeting you!” and with that, Harry was gone. Ran out of my sight, without a proper goodbye. This made me frown. Why? I have no idea._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not too long, neither is it that meaningful. I'm just writing out of joy. And sadness, 'cause I couldn't be at the London Session, which apparently was the coolest thing ever happened on this damned earth. Please leave a comment.


	3. First day, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh, yes, indeed. Louis' a little naive, and Harry is fascinating as always.

I think I sat there for an hour at least, before I was able to do anything. But that’s just Harry, he does that to people. Or to me, I don’t know. I’m weak. Anyways, if the day would’ve ended there, it would’ve been a whole lot different story, I believe. But it didn’t. Instead, a lot more was to come.  
I sometimes ask myself if I regret meeting Harry. I’ve never answered yes. You can read that any way you want to, but I was really keen on Harry. It just took a little while for me to warm up.  
Later that day, I'd say it was around 5pm, not that it really matters, but I just happen to remember, when my nana was back from her knitting party, or whatever, she wanted me to run to the store. I could've done it earlier, after the rooting, but for no apparent reason, I couldn't get a shit done. My nana wasn't mad though, she kept telling me I wasn't there to just work. I myself wasn't sure where the day had disappeared. All I could remember was thinking about piercing green eyes and that funny slow way of talking, that I had never heard before. I couldn't say that to nana, of course. I decided it was better to shut up about the whole thing, even though nana gave me all the credit for the flowerbed.  
Anyways. Let me cut to the chase.  
\---

_With a meter long grocery list, I left the wooden house of my nana's. I didn't mind going out though, since I had spent the whole day indoors after the mystery guy, Harry, had cruelly ditched me sitting on the grass. Yes, that's how I decided to see it. It was incredibly rude of him to just leave me there, without saying anything. Sure, I was being a little dramatic maybe, but I didn't like the way this curly haired lad made me feel. It made me uncomfortable, and I don't even know why. Or how, for that matter. Something in the way he talks or maybe something in his looks, I don't know, has captured me somehow. I don't like admitting it, but for some reason I feel like I need to see him again. But I think it would be rather creepy for me to start looking for him. Also, I am NOT going to do that. If he comes to see nana again, then I'll just be secretly happy about it. Maybe._

_Nana had asked me to visit ’the best bakery in Holmes Chapel’ after shopping. Apparently the shop was really close to it, so I wouldn't miss it, nana had said. The walk to the super market was around 1.5 miles, not that bad. I decided to make a good use of it, and tried to memorise where everything was. Considering I would be spending at least a month in this small town, I’d be nice to know where everything was. As I approached the down town, if that’s what you could call it, I walked past the library, a square - or something like it - shaped building with an oblique roof. It wasn’t huge, but I noted that I should visit it later. No matter what people said, I actually liked to read. I continued my way ahead, walking along the surprisingly busy main road towards the town square, which by the way, I found incredibly cute. Nana had told me something about the town, like some nice parks I should visit and she also praised the W. Mandeville bakery more than anything else in this whole village. Just a little way ahead I could already see the small bakery and it’s widely opened door. It looked inviting, I must say. Some elderly people and a couple of teenagers were standing in front of it, laughing, obviously enjoying the warm summer day. With a quick glance at the bakery, I jogged across the street seeing the Sainsbury’s local was a little way away from me. Nana was right when she said that the bakery was close to the store, because they were literally just across each other. I smiled to myself, before stepping inside the air conditioned market. It was buzzing with people. Happy chatting was heard around as I made strolled between the shelves, picking up some eggs, milk, cheese and other necessaries. Some of the older people greeted me, and I politely answered them._

_It felt home-ish to be honest. In Doncaster it was a little different of course, but I didn’t feel like I knew nothing about the town, even though that was exactly the case. I hummed some tune I had heard in the radio earlier today, when I placed the stuff on the conveyer. The girl behind the counter was smiling brightly at me as I reached for my wallet, to pay the bill._

_”It’ll be 35,20 dollars, please. You aren’t a local, are you?” she was quick to ask me a question._  
_She was a brown haired one, with pretty brown eyes too. I smiled at her, handing out a 50 dollars bill._  
_”No. I’m just visiting,” I then answered, packing up the stuff while she searched for the change._  
_”I thought so. It’s a small town,” she sort of giggled and I think I might’ve seen a small blush too._  
_”Yeah, I’ve heard,” I nodded, as I took the change she gave me. I placed the last few items in the bag, before waving a goodbye to the brunette. She waved back, letting another giggle fall from her lips. It made me smile._

_As I walked towards the bakery, I wondered if all of the people in Holmes Chapel were as nice as her. I doubted it right away. Every town has its assholes.  
I crossed the street, and reached the bakery. It was a sweet little boutique with big windows and a lot of flowers around. There were tables and chairs outside, though they were all occupied. I made my way inside and was hit with the sweet scent of freshly baked cookies right away. It was heavenly. Nana had said that I should just ask for 'Margaret's usual order' and they'd give me what I needed. It made me wonder how often nana came here. As I was looking around, a couple of children ran in to me. Two girls, maybe six-year-olds. I smiled at them, and they returned it shyly, before running outside, in to the arms of a middle aged woman, their mother I assumed. _

_I walked further in to the shop, letting the scent of the baked goods consume me fully. It was no wonder that so many people were passing their time here. There was one person before me on the line, but she was done quickly and gave me room to step in front of the counter._

_That, however, made my eyes widen. I knew I had sort of hoped this would happen, somewhere in the back of my mind, but I didn't actually think it would._

_"Louis?" His mouth was hanging open, and he was a little red from the cheeks. I figured it had something to do with the apron he was wearing - seeing it had pink hearts on it. I let a small smirk form on to my lips, as I leaned my elbow on the counter and my chin to my palm._  
_"Well, isn't this a surprise," I laughed, making his lips twitch too._  
_"It is. Though, I should've maybe guessed this might happen in case you're visiting Marge. She is a regular," Harry's voice was just as deep as it had been some hours ago, yet it still surprised me. He was fiddling with his apron and avoiding to look me in the eye. I straightened myself up, before nodding firmly._  
_"Maybe so. She sent me to get--"_  
_"Her regular order? I have it prepared already," Harry spoke enthusiastically, before walking to the room in the back. He came back right away, with a takeaway box in his hands. He opened it, and showed me what was inside._  
_"Two butter croissants, chocolate chip cookies, some blueberry muffins and the day's special, apple pie," Harry explained, as if I couldn't see it myself._  
_Even if he was being like this, I noticed I wasn't that irritated anymore. Not like I had been during our encounter earlier today._  
_"How much?" I asked, as Harry closed the box._  
_"20 dollars, it's her regular price," Harry smiled his dimpled smile at me, when I handed the bill. It was a 20, so I didn't have to wait for change. But for some odd reason, I checked if there was anyone in the line behind me, and when I saw that there wasn't, I leaned closer to Harry. He blinked twice, obviously confused._  
_"Uh, when are you getting off from work?" The question surprised Harry, but it surprised me even more. I wanted to shove it right back down my throat, but sadly, it doesn't work that way. It was silent for about three more seconds, before Harry let out the brightest smile I had ever seen. ___  
_"In three hours time."_  
_Now it was my time to blink. I wondered if it was too late to pretend that I had never even asked the question, because come on; did I really want Harry to be the first friend I made in this town? Isn't the brunette from Sansbury's a whole lot better?_  
_"Wanna hang out? Show me around?"_

_Apparently not._

_I'm pretty sure my face was contradicting with my words, since Harry's smile faltered a little, and he asked:_  
_"Are you sure? You don't look that happy." He seemed nervous, and I let out a sigh._  
_"Of course I'm sure, why would I ask if I wasn't?" Way to go Louis, that's how you handle a situation like this, I praised myself inwardly, before Harry said a thing._  
_"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I'll show you around. Just come here by eight, yeah?" He was smiling again, and much to my displeasure I couldn't help but smile back. Which lead him to smile even wider, and you can guess what happened to me. Yeah, sad, I know._  
_We said our goodbyes, before I sort of rushed out the door, not looking back, even though I had the urge to see the goofy smile on Harry's face one more time._

\--

_I literally wanted to punch myself in the face, when I found myself leaning on the wall of the bakery at 7.58pm. I'm never early. I had no idea why I was so nervous about Harry. You couldn't see it on my face when he was around, I hoped, but inside I felt all kinds of funny. I've just never met anyone like Harry. It still doesn't explain why I have this compelling need to befriend him. He's just a human, gosh Louis, I thought and shook my head._

_I glanced to my left. The bakery was already closed, but there were lights inside. They illuminated the street below the windows, making me feel like I was in a crappy romantic movie, just like Liam had not so politely suggested just a couple of days ago. It made me scorn silently, and I turned my head away._

_I figured Harry was closing the place up, so I stayed outside. It was still warm, and I could easily walk around in a t-shirt and knee length shorts. Even though I was here, in Holmes Chapel, I still enjoyed the summer. I loved the nights that just stretched on, continuing until the early hours of the next morning, where you're not even that tired, but when you finally lay down, the sleepiness hits you like a truck. In the darkest corners of my mind, I wondered if Harry and I would have such a night during this summer. And no, I have no idea why Harry was such a problem to me in the first place._

_Just as I was about to explore my unruly thoughts, the bakery's door was shut with a click and the light went out. I felt a little jolt run through my body, as I turned to look at Harry, who obviously hadn't noticed me yet. He was looking around with a small frown on his irritatingly flawless face. When he didn't spot me, his mouth turned in to a pout. I knew this was my chance to flee, if I wanted to. But I didn't. And it had nothing to do with the fact that I'd just be that good of a guy, that I couldn't stand up a person, no. Because I had stood up people, it was a hobby, almost, at some point of my life._

_No, I stayed, because the disappointed look on his face was heart wrecking, like one that a pound puppy has after being left in the cage, while their sibling was chosen to a new home. Yes, I'm going insane._

_"So. Where are we heading?" I spoke up from the wall, though I straightened up right after. Harry lift his face, squinting his eyes to see me. Once he did, his face was split by a huge smile._  
_"Louis," the delight was clear in his voice, and I was so close to let out a snarky comment, but held it inside instead._  
_"Harry," I said mockingly, when he leaped towards me._  
_"You came. Like, I thought for sure you'd just stand me up," Harry confessed, not looking me in the eyes. He looked like a child for sure._  
_"Now, why would I do that Harold? Wasn't I the one asking you to hang out with me?" The words leaving my mouth, didn't seem to represent my thoughts in any way. I was incapable of being mean to this curly haired boy._  
_Harry was smiling brightly again, almost blinding me._  
_"Did you just call me Harold? You do know that's not my name, right?" He motioned me to follow him as he spoke, and I didn't even hesitate._  
_"Yes, I did. And no, I had no way of knowing that it's not your name. Harry could be a short version of Harold, you know," it was complete nonsense, what we were talking about, but Harry's deep voice was just too soft, and it calmed me down. Something I was quickly growing to like._  
_"Well it isn't. I'm not sure if I like Harold or not. It sounds quite nice when you say it, but I like your voice, it might be just that," halfway through his words, Harry started to speak more to himself than to me. I found it rather funny._  
_"My voice? I've always thought it's a little dull, to be honest," I admitted, as we turned to left, on to a more narrow street. There were some couples walking around, but other than that, Holmes Chapel was quiet._  
_"Are you kidding? I bet you can sing well. You're voice is so clear," Harry said, smiling with his dimples showing. I chuckled at him, and shrugged._  
_"I've never sang seriously, so I wouldn't know."_  
_Harry pursed his lips in distaste, but said nothing about it._

_We walked in silence, him leading me to God knows where. We walked along the lanes with a steady pace, him humming some tune unfamiliar to me. I still nodded along to it, which made Harry smile. We took another turn to left, and I realised we had reached an area of detached houses. It was a really cozy area with 10 or so houses, sprinkled around. A proper family friendly area, I thought as Harry lead our way. At the end of the street, there were three houses, and Harry opened the gate to the closest one to us. It was a bigger house than my nana's, with a brownish roof and white painted walls._  
_"You coming?" Harry asked, holding the gate for me._  
_I blinked._  
_"Wait. Am I supposed to go there? Inside?" I felt anguished. I had finally realised it was Harry's house, which probably held his family inside._  
_Harry let out a small laugh, from between his slightly parted lips._  
_"Usually you do that, yes. But you're a special one, aren't you Louis?" He was grinning at me, and I didn't like it. I didn't like the superior position he was in, not one bit._  
_I huffed and took three steps closer, stilling before stepping inside. I squinted my eyes, showing him my discomfort with the situation._  
_Harry rolled his eyes, and pulled me in from the gate._  
_"We're not going inside. Follow me," he explained, leaving the gate for me to close. I did so, then jogged after him. The curtains to his house were closed, but I could see the light peeking through some gaps. We basically sneaked around the yard, Harry leading us to the back. He patted a huge tree, then turned to me._  
_"How about this?"_  
_I looked up, to see a rather big tree house built on the branches. I was impressed, to say the least._  
_"This isn't exactly 'showing me around', now is this?" I pointed out, but Harry was already climbing up the self-built ladder. Not wanting to be left behind, I quickly followed him. For such a tall and clumsy guy, Harry was pretty fast at climbing. As I reached the top, he was already sitting by the square shaped hole, which I interpreted as a window. There was a rag rug in rainbow colours on the wooden floor and a couple of sleeping bags there. The window had light blue curtains too, and I automatically thought that it had to be Harry’s idea. I sat next to him, leaning my back on the wall, just like he was._  
_”Do you like it?” he asked with a small smile on his face. I shrugged and looked around a bit more. There wasn’t too much stuff in here, but it was a really well built tree house, in my opinion. There were two windows in total, and the other one had a windowsill and a vase standing on it. The flowers were missing though, I noticed. Also, some old toys lied in the corner, it was easy to tell no one had touched them in years. Otherwise, I could only see some dust laying around._  
_”It’s nice. Something I’ve never had,” I then said._  
_”My dad built it with me and my sister, two years before he left,” Harry explained silently. I turned to look at him, and wow. Here was the curly haired lad, telling me about something like this, before I even knew his favorite food or even his last name._  
_”What’s your full name?” I blurted out, not able to control my mouth. Also, I wasn’t that keen on talking about deep shit with someone I had just met._  
_”Huh?”_  
_Harry was furrowing his eyebrows again, and I just couldn’t stop myself from flicking his forehead._  
_”We don’t even know each other’s full names, and you’re ready to tell me your life story, Harry. What if I’d be a spy or something? Trying to find your weakspot, so I could torture you and steal everything you love from you?” I spoke dramatically, my hand on my heart. This made Harry throw his head back in a laugh. It wasn’t a surprise that I smiled from ear to ear, too._  
_”I’m Harry Edward Styles, I’ve lived in Holmes Chapel all my life. I work at the W. Mandeville bakery as a part timer, but it’s also my current summer job. I have a big sister, mother and a stepdad,” Harry gave his introduction painfully slow, but to me it was all interesting information._

_Up until now, Harry had seemed like an unreal person to me. Someone I had made up in the heat of a summer day, someone who had disappeared just as fast as he had made me fall down on my arse earlier. It was fascinating to hear, that Harry actually was a real human being, with a family and a history._  
_”Do I have to introduce myself now?” I asked, lifting my eyebrows at him. He playfully slapped my arm, with an agape mouth and wide eyes._  
_”Louis! You were the one who said we didn’t know anything about each other. Are you actually going to search for my weakspot now?” Harry asked with a hint of laugh in his voice. I rolled my eyes at him and decided to be fair for once._  
_”I’m Louis William Tomlinson and I live in Doncaster. My grandma, Margaret, lives here and I’m visiting her for the summer. I have a mum, stepdad and six younger siblings. I was planning on interrailing this summer with my best friend Liam, but was sent here instead.”_  
_Harry’s smile was wide again._  
_”Wow, you’ve got a big family. Sisters and brothers?”_  
_”Five sisters and one brother. Two set of twins too,” I explained proudly. Harry’s eyes twinkled while he looked at me. I snorted at the reaction, but didn’t say anything._  
_”What’re their names?” Harry then asked, but continued before I could even say a thing, ”My sister is Gemma and she’s two years older than me.”_  
_”Well, there’s Lottie and Fizzy. Lottie’s two years younger than I am and Fizzy is three years younger. Then the twin girls, Daisy and Phoebe, six years younger than I am. And the baby twins, Ernest and Doris. They’re a little over year. A big fuzz in our house, just imagine,” I chuckled, with a fond smile on my lips._  
_”I’m sure it is,” Harry nodded, still staring at me._

_A silence fell upon us, as I stared at the wall, trying to avoid Harry’s curious eyes boring in to me. It made me a little uneasy, but I didn’t say anything about it. I thought that Harry actually was like that, as a person. It wasn’t something I was used to. Even Niall wasn’t like this, I thought, and immediately smiled._  
_”Louis?” Harry’s voice was dripping with honey, I was sure of it now. Do you know what else I was sure about? I wasn’t myself anymore. Like, seriously, dripping? Dripping?_  
_”Hmm?” I finally turned to face Harry, whose eyes were shining, like always._  
_”How old are you, exactly?”_  
_The question was something I wasn’t expecting. I blinked twice, and then just looked dumbfounded. Why did it matter?_  
_”I mean, you’re so tiny. Short, you know. But you have a stubble and you don’t exactly look like a fifteen-year-old,” Harry’s voice was genuine, but if there is something I hate, it’s when people call me tiny._  
_”First of all, my dearest Harold, I am not tiny, not even remotely. Secondly, I am going to be 18 in December,” I huffed loudly, putting emphasis on my words. Harry’s eyes widened in surprise and he moved a little closer to me. He examined my face from a really close distance. I had to gulp, and I was already prepared to tell him to move away, but he beat me._  
_”What? 18? Never would’ve guessed,” Harry muttered, finally turning his gaze away. I had to roll my eyes at him, but I still smiled._  
_”How old are you then?” I asked, straightening my legs at the same time from the cross sitting position I had sat in._  
_”Uh, I’m 16, turned in February,” Harry said with a sheepish smile, scratching his neck a little. Honestly, I thought he was the same age as me. I couldn’t conceal my surprise apparently, since Harry just let out a small chuckle._  
_”It’s not that weird, Louis. I know I might seem a little older at times, but I’m just a kid at heart,” he nodded to his own words, making his curls bounce up and down a little._  
_”So am I, Harold,” I grinned, patting his head. He laughed at me, when I couldn’t remove my hand. Gosh, his curls were soft. I fiddled with them and smirked at his giggling._  
_”They’re soft, Harry,” I said with childlike joy in my voice. Harry grinned at me, and suddenly attacked me, tickling my sides ruthlessly. I squirmed on the ground, trying to get away from him, but he was stronger than me._  
_”Harry!” I squeaked in the middle of muffled-by-hand laughs. Harry chuckled, giving my left side one more attack, but it slowly turned in to calming stroking, instead of tickling._  
_And there I lied, on the wooden floor of Harry Styles’ tree house, trying to catch my breath, Harry right above me, smiling widely. It was wicked._  
_”I’ve underestimated you, Styles,” I huffed, still slightly panting and staring him right in the eyes. Harry shrugged with a smug smile on his face, before helping me up again._  
_”No, really. I never thought you would have it in you to do that,” I teased him, poking one of his shown dimples. Harry pushed my hand away, but never stopped smiling._

_It was already dark when we finally decided to call it a day. The clock was past midnight, but I wasn’t feeling even a bit tired, and the truth to be told, I was kind of hoping that Harry would ask me to stay the night._

_Wow, that sounded a lot different than I meant it to._

_”Are you really that tired?” I almost whined, as Harry escorted me to the gate. He hushed at me, pointing at their now dark house with his thumb. I rolled my eyes, stepping out of the opened gate. I leaned to it with my hands, giving him the puppy eyes._  
_”Yes, Louis. I’m that tired. I’ve been working all day. And, and! I even rooted the flower bed for you. It’s been a long day. And I have a morning shift tomorrow,” he whispered, with a small smile on his lips._  
_I was still leaning on the gate, but now I was also trying to climb on the other side. Harry had to stifle his laughs, as he tried to stop me from climbing back. He didn’t succeed however, because soon enough I had my legs wrapped around his waist, and his hands were securely around my waist._  
_”How did this happen?” he finally laughed out loud, though it wasn’t as loud as his usual throw-back-my-head laugh. Yes, that’s what I shall call it. Or just Harry’s laugh._  
_”Well, Harold, you tried to disobey the allmighty king, and this is the result. Are you happy now?” I said in the matter of fact way, but Harry just fucking smiled brighter than ever._  
_”Yes,” he nodded, then suddenly taking a hold of my shoulder with his teeth._  
_”Bloody hell, Styles. Are you actually biting me?” My meant to be offended voice turned in to a bunch of very, very manly giggles (and I wondered if I would ever do this with anyone else than, Harry, probably not.)._  
_”Does it hurt?”_  
_”No.”_  
_”Then no, I’m not biting you, Louis,” he simply answered still carefully nibbling on my t-shirt._  
_”I’m going to have your drool all over my shirt now. Gee, thanks, Harry.”_  
_”You can leave whenever you feel like it,” he said while giving me a mischievous smile, before going back to eating me. I huffed loudly, then told him to put me down._  
_”You’re actually quite warm. I might just take you with me, to my teddy bear. I’ll just cuddle you all night, yeah,” Harry was obviously teasing me, hugging me tightly. I started squirming out of his grip, but it was for nothing._  
_”Fine, fine. I’ll put you down, but you got to go, okay?” Harry made me actually pinky promise that I’d leave._  
_As I walked out of the gate for the second time that night, and Harry closed it, I felt happy but a little sad too. Not about the situation, but about the fact that I had actually thought Harry was annoying. Because he really wasn’t. He was endearing._  
_”I had fun today,” I simply said, standing there with my hands in my pockets. Harry smiled, for the hunderth time that day. Or millionth, I don’t know._  
_”Me too. I’m glad I met you,” he said, his voice genuine._  
_”Yeah,” I nodded shortly, already turning around to leave, but he grabbed my hand._  
_”Look, Louis. I know I might not be anything like your friend Liam or the smoker, Zayn, but I really, really had fun tonight. I hope we could be actual friends,” Harry’s voice showed his insecurity, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with the fact how hesitant I had been earlier today._  
_”No, you’re nothing like them Harry. But I had fun too. I’m staying here for at least a month, and honestly, I can’t think of a better way to spent it than with you,” I cringed at my sweet words, but it lighted up Harry’s face again, something I was aiming for._  
_”You’re actually a really sweet guy, did you know that Louis?” Harry was smirking now. I made a gagging noice, gently pushing his chest, which proved to be a little difficult because he was still holding on to my hand._  
_Though he dropped it as soon as he noticed._  
_”Well, sleep tight Styles,” I hummed, waving at him and walking backwards._  
_He was the one leaning on the gate now, smiling like a fool. >/i>_  
_”Yeah, you too, Lou.”_  
_Harry gave me a small wave, before I turned around and pretended like I knew where we had come from._  
\---

That is how I got to know the ever so beautiful Harry Styles. He’s something special, I’m telling you. I still remember that time in the tree house, the time he tried to tickle me to death. It was truly one of those magical moments that you just can’t get the grasp of. I remember thinking about his green eyes, lying in the attic that night, and I remember wondering why I never took notice of Liam’s brown eyes or Niall’s blue ones. I was a little naive back then, but I like the story that way. Our summer would’ve gone a whole lot differently if I would’ve known all the things I know now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after this, there is going to be chapters and snippets from that summer, things they've done together. They'll be in a chronological order, so don't worry about that. Basically, I'm leaving the dull parts unwritten.


	4. Beach day

For days I just spent my afternoons at the Mandeville’s, entertaining Harry. His boss wasn’t always as happy to see me as Harry was, but oh well. During those days, I got absolutely nothing done at my nana’s place, but I was way too fascinated by Harry to care, honestly. Even now when I try to explain to people, how good of friends we were after knowing each other for less than a week, I struggle. No matter what I say, it doesn’t deliver the message. I’ll try putting it here, and then you’ll just see it the way you want to; it was like I had met someone I had loved in the past life, oh so dearly. Like meeting someone who already knew what are my weak spots, what made me laugh and knew how to read me better than I myself. It felt like I was being reunited with a long lost soulmate, and I couldn’t stay away from him. He was like a magnet. Yeah, a magnet.  
\--  
 _One thing I wasn’t expecting to see, when I walked downstairs from my attic, was to find Harry freaking Styles sitting in the breakfast table with my nana. They were laughing and I was only in my boxers and a t-shirt. It took a moment for me to decide how I would approach the scene, but wound up with the usual ’Louis attitude’._

_”Good morning, Harold” I chirped, and sat right on to Harry’s lap, giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek. He was shocked to say the least, not to even start with my nana. Harry’s eyes were comically widened, yet his hands had already found their way on my hips, holding me in place. As he just sat there, opening and closing his mouth, I gave him a proper smile that showed my teeth._

_”Louis! You can’t do that to a guest! Go put some clothes on, and stop harassing Harry,” nana’s voice was nagging and her expression was horrified. She literally looked like she had just seen a ghost. I only swung my legs a little, and yeah, I think it was safe to say I felt like home already._   
_Harry finally returned to the planet Earth, and burst out laughing, making my nana even more confused. I just grinned, stroking Harry’s hair._

_”Don’t worry Marge, we know each other already,” Harry assured my nana, trying to peek from behind me to get a proper look at the poor lady._

_”You do?”_

_Harry and I nodded in unison, and then Harry just pushed me off of his lap._

_”Go put on some clothes. I’m having a civilized conversation with your nana, Louis,” Harry tsked at me, shaking his head disapprovingly. I huffed in response, but did as I was told. I ran back upstairs and pulled on the first clothes I found – a blue t-shirt and knee length sand colored shorts. I styled my hair a little, just to not look like a total zombie. Then I skipped back downstairs, just in time to see how my nana placed a cup of tea and some bread on the table for me, right next to Harry. I wasted no time, as I sat next to Harry. I started munching the bread gratefully, as Harry just watched me with an amused face._

_”How well do you two know each other, exactly?” nana was the first one to speak. She was furrowing her eyebrows, obviously trying to wrap her head around it all._  
 _”Where do you think he’s been spending all his time at, Marge?” Harry laughed, but as nana didn’t seem to get the hint, he continued, ”Lou’s been keeping me company at Mandeville’s.”_

_Nana’s eyes widened, and she immediately called my name._

_”Louis!”_

_I looked up from my tea, and gave her a questioning look._   
_”What?”_

_”You can’t just go disturb Harry at his work, you silly boy. Rather do your own work here and see Harry after he’s off from work,” nana was nagging again. I had a huge urge to roll my eyes, but even I’m not that disrespectful._

_”It’s alright Marge. I’ve been having lots of fun with Louis around. He’s not disturbing, really,” Harry was a master at assuring my nana, since she seemed to calm down seemingly after._   
_”Actually, Louis, I’m getting two weeks off starting from next Monday,” Harry then said, giving me one of his signature smiles.  
”What? That’s like, in three days?”_

_”Yeah, I know. What do you wanna do?” Harry sounded like an excited kid, as he grabbed my hand under the table. I laughed at his reaction, and promised to think something for us to do._   
_”What are you doing here this early though?” I questioned, gulping down the last bits of my bread and tea._   
_”I don't have work until the afternoon. Just wondered if you’d like to go for a swim, now that it’s such a good weather outside,” Harry was stroking my hand with his thumb, and it was quite calming to be honest. I looked at my nana, who was now smiling with a little unrecognizable twinkle in her eyes._

_”Is it okay if I go? I can mow the lawn after I get back,” I suggested, even though I was pretty sure nana would let me go anyways._   
_”Of course. I’ll go visit Anne, haven’t seen her in such a long time,” nana said with a delighted voice, directing his words at him._   
_”Who’s Anne?” I asked in confusion, pondering if it could be Harry’s girlfriend. It wouldn’t be surprising really. I mean, Harry is good looking, nice and a warm person._

_”My mum,” Harry simply said smiling, erasing all the thoughts of blonde girls in bikinis, clinging on to Harry. Leaving me smiling._  
 _”You never told me your mother’s name,” I sort of accused, but Harry already knew when I was joking and when I wasn’t._   
_”You didn’t tell me yours either!” he poked my thigh with his index finger. I rolled my eyes at him, gettin up and taking my plate and cup with me. I brought them to kitchen, only to notice that Harry had followed me like a lost puppy_. 

_”Aren’t you going to tell me your mother’s name?” he asked with a small grin on his face. I squinted my eyes, wondering what he was up to._  
 _You see, Harry isn’t an innocent person at all. I had a massively underestimated him, which I would be scolding myself about, but I’m pretty sure a lot of people misjudge him. Nonetheless, I adore the curly haired lad._  
 _”Why do you need it?” I asked, leaning my back on the kitchen counter, and crossing my arms on my chest. Harry took a couple steps closer, until his nose almost touched mine. He placed his hands on the counter, trapping me in between his hands. I lifted my eyebrows at him, unimpressed._

_Now this is what separates Harry from every single other friend I have; I would never be this close to anyone else. With Harry, it was natural. We felt the connection, we knew it was alright and it didn’t become awkward at any point. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be awkward even if he kissed me. Wonder what would happen then though?_

_I shook myself out of the inappropriate thoughts, just in time to catch Harry’s purring voice._  
 _”So I can send her a thank you letter, for sending her son to spent his summer in Holmes Chapel of course. What did you think?”_  
 _Harry was smiling his sheepish smile again and it made my lips curve up too. I patted his chest lightly, letting out a small breath._  
 _”Well, her name is Johannah, but everyone just calls her Jay,” I was rather quick to give in to Harry, no matter what’s the occasion._

_”Jay, huh? I’ll send her a card, definitely,” Harry beamed at me, and I had to laugh. He leaned a little closer, smiling widely. My hands were still resting on his chest as he placed his forehead against mine._   
_”You’re pretty awesome, Lou,” he whispered, so close that I could feel his breath hit my lips. I was a little afraid to breath, because those exactly same lips were only inches away, one too big of a move, and it’d be a kiss._

_”I know,” my voice sounded a lot more calmer, than how I felt. Harry just did this to me, and he knew it._  
 _A smirk made its way on to his lips, as he placed quick kiss on my nose, and backed away. He didn’t say anything about it after, just batted his eyelashes like he had never done anything wrong in his life._   
_I huffed, feeling a bit hot on my cheeks. But it wasn’t awkward, just a little unusual for my daily routine. I’m not saying I’d I hate it or anything._  
 _”Where did nana go?”_  
 _”She left. We got to clean up the table,” Harry shrugged, already walking to the dining room._   
_”What?” I cried out, stomping after Harry._

\--

_After we had cleaned up the table, I changed in to my swimming trunks and we left to the beach. Like Harry had said, it was sunny outside and the beach was packed with people; families with smaller kids and bigger kids, teenage couples sucking each other’s faces off, a little bit more subtle couples and of course, groups of friends hanging around. I would’ve probably felt uneasy with being there if it was in Doncaster, you see, Harry and I were basically skin-to-skin as soon as we hopped in to the warm lake water, but this was Holmes Chapel, and I knew no one. Harry instead, would wave at couple of the teens, but they barely bothered us._

_”Why don’t you talk to your friends?” I asked out loud, as we were building a sand castle a few hours later._  
 _”We’re not that close.” Harry shrugged, glancing at them._   
_”You aren’t?” Harry had brought a box of fresh strawberries with him and I was basically hogging them all to myself. Harry didn’t seem to mind though, happily building the castle._  
 _”No. We go to the same school, but we don’t really hang out with each other. I have other friends, but they’re not here right now,” Harry then explained, taking one of the strawberries from the box, popping it in his mouth._

_”Not here? Like in Holmes Chapel?” I took another strawberry and took off its stem. Then I gestured for Harry to open up his mouth, which he did, with a little difficulties, since a smile was threathning to spread over his lips. He snatched the red berry from between my fingers, letting his tongue swipe across them. A laugh escaped my lips as Harry winked at me._   
_”Yeah, they’re both out of country. They’ll be back though, after a week or so.”_

_I nodded, wondering what kind of people Harry was associated with. Were they girls or boys? Kind or demanding? Sassy like me?_

_”Are they like me?” I found myself asking, before I could stop my huge mouth from opening. Harry grinned, but shook his head._  
 _”I wouldn’t say so, no. Cara is, well, she is unique, that’s for sure. And Ed, Ed is your complete opposite.”_  
 _”Nothing like me then? Well, I guess I should’ve known that. I am one of a kind aren’t I?” I wiggled my eyebrows and Harry bursted out laughing. He nodded though, snatching the box of strawberries from me._   
_”You’ll have tummy ache if you eat too much of these. Let’s just go back to the water,” he said, closing the box. I pouted a little, but got up from the ground nonetheless. I held my hand out for Harry, and he took it gladly. I was already backing towards the water, but Harry had to drop our snack by our stuff, in the shadows under the tree. The water reached already my waist by the time Harry stepped in to the lake. I walked a couple meters further, but stopped then, waiting for my friend. Unlike me, Harry actually swam. He reached me in no time, circling his long arms around my waist. It had become kind of a habit for us. I wasn’t complaining though._

_”Are you cold?” Harry asked, blinking his eyes a little. I figured the sun was shining right in to his eyes. It was already past three and the sun was slowly starting to set._  
 _”No,” I stated, mimicking Harry’s action, and circling my own arms around him._  
 _”Your lips are a little blue. Maybe we should just go back already,” Harry seemed a little worried but I waved my hand at him._   
_”Don’t wanna. Your shift starts in hour and a half. If we go now, you’ll just leave right away,” I pointed out, holding on to him tighter. Harry grinned at me, shaking his head a little._  
 _”Who knew you’d be this obsessed over me?” Harry had become good at teasing me, but I would never admit it to him._  
 _”I’m not, Harold. I’m bored without you, that’s what I am,” I rolled my eyes, but Harry obviously didn’t buy it. He just laughed out loud, then pulled me with him in to the water. He held on to my hands as we were diving around with our eyes open. And even though my eyes stung in a rather unpleasant way, I didn’t want to close them. Harry’s hair was floating around in the water, giving him a real halo. Without really thinking about it, I drowned my hand in to his luchious curls, gently pulling him closer to me by his neck. I was carefully studying his rather flawless face; his piercing green eyes, his now sticky and wet eyelashes and his high cheek bones, even though they weren’t as high as mine._   
_Soon enough, we had to get on the surface because, to get some air. My hand was still hidden in Harry’s hair and only our heads could be seen, the rest of our bodies still underwater. Harry was less than five inches from me, smiling sweetly._  
 _”What’re you smiling at Styles?” I teased him, trying to untangle my hand from his wet curls._   
_”Nothing. I’m just happy, that’s all,” he shrugged, as I finally got my hand back to myself._   
_”You really like my hair, don’t you?” he grinned, and I nodded with a smile._  
 _”You looked like an angel down there,” I admitted, poking his nose gently. As a result Harry scrunched it up. He looked fucking adorable._   
_”Did you just call me an angel?” Harry then asked, coming an inch closer, his eyes boring in to mine. He had a playful smile on his lips, and I noticed his right hand resting on my hip.  
What a position to be in, I thought._  
 _”Why yes I did, Harold,” I stated, smiling back at him._

_I had such a hard time understanding things nowadays. Harry had completely messed up my life and thoughts, I noticed as Harry finally backed away a little, leaving behind a cold spot on my waist and a tingly feeling in my stomach. I wondered what it was about him. I had already figured out that he was one of a kind, but why? What was so damn special about him and his dimples?_

_”C’mon on Louis, we have to go,” Harry pulled me with him by my hand. I followed obediently, shaking my wet hair a little. Droplets of water sprayed around, hitting Harry’s back. He shrieked a little, turning to me with a small pout on his lips. I just chuckled, catching up to him, so we walked side by side out of the water._

_We were just pulling our shirts over our heads, when couple of girls walked to us. The other one had thick brown hair with brown eyes, while the other one was completely blond one with blue eyes. I raised my eyebrows as they just stood there, giggling and whispering to each other. I nudged Harry giving he hadn’t even noticed the girls. Just as Harry turned to them, the brown haired one spoke up._  
 _”Hi Harry,” a voice way too sugary, I immediately decided, scrunching my nose a bit._   
_”Eleanor,” Harry said curtly, and it must’ve been the most impolite I had ever heard him be. In the light of this new information – Harry obviously wasn’t very fond of the girl – I looked at her more closely._  
 _She was very ordinary looking; skinny with slightly high cheekbones and a little bit too big of a nose for my taste. She had a sickly sweet smile on her face, and she was batting her eyelashes – at me._  
 _”Why don’t you introduce us, Harry?”_  
 _I glanced at Harry, who was now pursing his lips in distaste. He shook his head a little, but opened him mouth nonetheless._  
 _”This is Louis. Louis, Eleanor and Taylor,” Harry’s voice screamed annoyed, yet I don’t think the girls were interested. As soon as Harry shut his mouth, Eleanor came closer, smiling with her teeth showing. And never had I ever wanted a girl to get further away from me, then in that moment._

_”So, Louis. What are you up to tonight?”_   
_”There’s a party,” the blonde one, Taylor, said before I could even answer. Eleanor gave her a warning look, before turning back to me, throwing her hair over her shoulder. Seriously, could this be cheesier?_   
_”Not interested,” I said with a dull voice, taking a step behind. Harry had collected all of our stuff, and was ready to leave._   
_”What? But it’s a beach party. It’ll be fun,” Eleanor hurried to say, but I only rolled my eyes._  
 _”I don’t think so. I’ve got better company anyways,” I shrugged, taking Harry’s hand in mine, and pulling him away from the girls. His eyes were comically widened as he looked back and forth between me and the girls._

_”Louis! You can’t say that,” he hissed as we continued our way, hand in hand, away from the leeches._   
_”And why the hell not? I don’t like them,” I stated, not even looking at Harry. From the corner of my eye I could see his mouth opening and closing, obviously lost for words. I chuckled and squeezed his hand a little tighter._   
_”Jeez, Harry. It’s just a couple of girls. Nothing that serious, love.”_   
_The word kind of slipped out of my mouth before I could even register it properly. I had never used the particular word with anyone before, not even the girls I had casually been seeing. But somehow, it suited Harry better than anyone else I had ever known_.   
_”Love?” his lips were turned up into a huge smile again, so I figured he didn’t mind the petname. I took a proper look at him, humming in response and giving him a small smile of my own. Harry didn’t let it go so easily though._  
 _”You are a total sap, Louis William Tomlinson. Never would’ve guessed,” Harry teased, giving me a nudge with his elbow._  
 _”You make me in to a one, Harold. Can’t help it honestly,” I went along with the joke, laughing already._   
_”I do?” Harry blinked at me, with a hint of amusement in his eyes. We walked in a steady pace while I ignored Harry’s latest question. He wasn’t demanding for an answer either, so we just walked, hands tightly clasped together._

_And I wondered what on earth had Harry done to my head or to my heart. Because it didn’t feel the same anymore, not in the slightest. Something inside me, was moving and evolving, but I had no idea where it would lead me to. All I knew, was that I wanted Harry more. I wanted to be in his presence, to see more of the dimpled smile and more of those brown curly locks._

_”What’re you thinking about?” Harry asked, swinging our hands back and forth in between us._   
_”You,” I simply said and gave him a smile. Harry grinned, shining like the sun. He shook his head a little, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. We didn’t speak much on our way to the town – I walked to the bakery with Harry. As we reached Mandeville’s, I let go of Harry’s hand._  
 _”Are you going to be okay now? Are you sure you’ll make it inside safely?” I teased, but Harry just laughed at me._   
_”I’ll be fine Lou. I’ll see you later, maybe tomorrow if I have time,” Harry smiled, patting my head._   
_”Don’t pat me Styles,” I huffed, shoving his hands away._   
_”Hey! I liked the other name a lot more than this one,” he pouted, turning away from me. I rolled my eyes – a bit of a habit I had picked while hanging with Harry – but pulled him closer by his upper arm._   
_”Don’t be mad, love. I’ll use ’the other name’ from now on,” I cooed, tickling his stomach a little. Harry started laughing, but circled his arm around my neck, pulling me in to a hug._

_When we parted, Harry batted his eyelashes at me, smiling sweetly. It looked a lot more cuter than Eleanor’s. Not that I was comparing or anything._   
_”See you tomorrow,” I said walking away, waving at him, ”love.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. I struggled with this one, I don't know why. I'll try to pick up my game from now on. Leave a comment.


	5. Baby cakes and sweet cheeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have to apologize for the carroty shit in advance; sorry. Also, the chapters might be a little shorter from now on, since it's just basically one or two scenes. You get me, right?

_The loud ringing of my IPhone woke me up that morning. I had stayed up really late the previous night, and I didn’t appreciate the call._

_”Louis? Oh, thank God I got a hold of you,” Harry’s voice was ragged and he was breathing heavily, like he had just ran a mile. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, trying to get the sleepiness out of them. Then I checked the time from my phone – 5.34 – while Harry was babbling about something with a shaky voice._  
_”Harry. Calm down,” I turned to lie on my stomach, waiting for Harry to shut up. He kept going on for a while, until my words hit finally hit him._  
_”Okay, okay. I’m totally calm,” I cringed at his_ totally _not calm voice, and exhaled._  
_”What’s wrong? Care to tell me why you’re calling me at this ungodly hour?” I tried to be angry, tried to transfer my annoyance through the phone the best I could, but deep inside I was a little worried what had gotten Harry this much on edge._  
_”Okay. So, I came to work this morning, right? I opened the bakery, just like I always do and started the morning routine, putting out the pastries and cleaning a little here and there, just the usual stuff. Oh, and I also went over my working hour—”_  
_”Cut to the chase, Harry.”_  
_”Right. So, when Barbara was supposed to arrive – half an hour ago – she just didn’t! And then I called her and she said she’s sick and can’t make it today. I called Maggie and Elise, but they can’t make it with such a short notice. Louis; I’m all alone here,” Harry was basically crying by this point, and I have no idea why. That didn’t sound like someone had mugged him or anything. I had my guesses though (PMSing, he’s PMSing)_  
_”Harold, why are you crying? Have you never been there alone?” I asked with a soothing voice. Harry sniffled and took a deep breath._  
_”I have, but it’s Saturday,” Harry emphasized the word ’Saturday’, like it was day right from hell._

_I furrowed my eyebrows._

_”And?”_  
_Harry let out a loud huff on the other side of the phone, and I sensed he wanted to scream. But he didn’t. He just let out a few cries, and then returned to the phone._  
_”Louis. It’s the busiest day of the week. We can barely handle it with all four of us here. I can’t do this alone, but I can’t let Barbara down, Lou,” his voice was cracking a little and it didn’t take much time for me to understand that this was something really important to Harry._  
_I lifted myself to sitting position, having a faint idea what was about to come. I wouldn’t be going back to sleep, that’s for sure._  
_”Alright. What can I do then?”_  
_Harry was breathing slowly, and I could see it in my eyes how he was fiddling with his fingers, wondering if he should or should not ask me._  
_”Could you, could you come here Lou? I need your help,” his voice was desperate, and I honestly felt like hitting myself when this was the exact moment my morning wood decided to make itself known. I groaned in the phone, which made Harry apologize about thousand times for even asking, but I interrupted him._  
_”No! It wasn’t for you. I’ll be there, just give me... Like forty minutes,” I murmured looking away from my pants._  
_”Are you sure Louis?” Harry breathed out and I could hear the smile creeping up his lips. I felt like groaning again, my little Louis twitching a little, but I shook the unholy thoughts away from my mind._  
_”I’ll be there. See you, Harold,” I said shortly, ending the call right after Harry started thanking me, yet again about a thousand times. I decided I could handle that once I got to the bakery. Something else, however, couldn’t wait, I thought as I hopped out of the bed, and headed towards the bathroom._

\--

_I was at the bakery about forty-five minutes later, at 6.22. Harry was smiling brightly as he opened the door, pulling me straight into a hug._

_”I’m so very sorry I had to wake you up this early, but I couldn’t think of anyone else,” Harry babbled, holding me tightly in his arms. I just patted his back, detaching myself from him._  
_”It’s okay. Though I had no idea you guys started this early,” I admitted, walking after Harry as he lead me further in to the bakery. We went to the back, in the room where only the employees were allowed. It was basically a kitchen with a coffee table and a few chairs._  
_”I’m so glad Barbara had made most of the products yesterday. I couldn’t have finished them all in time, no way,” Harry spoke more to himself, as he digged through one of the cabinets._ _As he closed it, he threw a white apron at me._  
_”You have to wear that,” he simply said, then going back to the actual bakery, me following him obediently. I put the apron on, and then Harry taught me how to use the cash register and the card reader. It was rather easy once I got the hang of it._  
_”Here is a list of the prices and products. It’s right next to the register, so you don’t have to check every price separately. I think that’s the most of it,” Harry nodded to himself, then looked at me, as if to check if I had understood everything._  
_”I’m sure I’ll manage. I’ll just ask you if something comes up, okay?” I had my arms crossed on my chest and a smile on my face. Harry nodded and then left me on my own, to go bake stuff, telling me to open the doors in ten minutes._

_I took a deep breath and wondered what the hell had I gotten myself into._

\--

_”Aand, we’re done,” I announced, closing the door as the last customers walked out with a couple of brown paper bags. Harry let his upper body fall on the counter with a loud sigh. He was tired, but smiling._  
_”We did it, Lou. We actually did it,” Harry's voice was blissful and his eyes were closed. I walked up to him, mimicking his actions; my chest and stomach were on the counter and my face right next to Harry’s._

_We had run the bakery all day, meaning that we opened around seven and closed just now, around six. Eleven hours. It had been exhausting, but we had fun. I got to spent all day with Harry and learned lots of new stuff about him; he was genuine with every one, all of the customers, he was committed and hard working and what stood out the most, was his smile that he didn’t get tired of showing all day long._  
_Harry and I had gotten in to a flour fight at some point, which seemed to entertain the kids and made them encourage their parents to buy more pastries. It had been a good day, all in all._

_”Did Barbara call you at some point?” I asked, my eyes still open, admiring Harry’s features. He was almost dozing off, but I nudged him gently. "I thought I heard a snippet of your conversation._  
_”Yeah. She told me I don’t have to come to work tomorrow. Also, she wants to give you your paycheck tomorrow,” Harry cracked his other eye open, to take a look at me. I shook my head, smiling._  
_”I don’t need money. I had fun,” I hummed, but Harry only chuckled._  
_”You’ve clearly not met Barbara. She’ll force the money on you, you won’t be able to escape.”_  
_”Then I just won’t visit the bakery anymore,” I said nonchalantly, which made Harry raise himself._  
_”Hey. Not fair. Then I won’t see you either,” he was pouting, furrowing his eyebrows at me. I looked up to him, and then just raised myself up too._  
_”Fine. I’ll take the money,” I gave up, way too easily. But it was fine, since it was Harry. He smiled, untying his apron. I followed his actions and gave my apron to him. Harry raised his eyebrows, giving me the ’oh, so it’s on me? kind of look, and walked to the backroom._

_We made sure the bakery was in a great condition before we turned of the lights, and left. On the street however, we ran in to a problem; we had to go our separate ways, since we lived in different directions. I knew this bothered Harry just as much as it did me, just by looking at his sad eyes._  
_”Stop looking at me like that. I need to go home, it’s already past seven and I haven’t even eaten,” I defended myself, turning away from Harry’s puppy eyes._  
_”But Lou,” he was whining. Great. Just what I needed._  
”No, Harry. I’m hungry and tired. I want to go home now. We’ll see tomorrow or on Monday,” I said determinedly. Harry took three steps closer, so that we were basically chest to chest.  
_”Let’s go get ice cream first. Then you can go, okay?” Harry’s left hand was resting on my hip and his right hand was holding my hand. He had a weird way trying to persuade me. It worked though._  
_”Fine. Fucking fine then,” I groaned, pushing him a bit away from me, not letting go of his hand though._  
_Harry squealed a little, pulling me after him. And although my feet were hurting, back was aching and my stomach was growling, I still smiled at Harry’s childlike demeanor. We walked couple hundred of meters until we stopped in front of an ice cream parlor. We bought our ice creams and sat down on the edge of the pavement, side by side. The cold ice cream did taste pretty good after the tiring fay, but I was still mocking myself for being such a weakling when it came to Harry._

_”Thank you for helping me today, Lou,” Harry spoke, licking his vanilla ice cream._  
_”It was fun,” I shrugged, taking a bite out of my passion fruit ice cream ball. Harry’s eyes widened in horror as he snatched the cone from me._  
_”You’re not going to eat it if that’s how you’ll do it,” he snapped, giving me a mean glance. I blinked twice._  
_”Are you fucking kidding me, Harold? Give the cone back. I came here to eat ice cream, now let me eat it,” I demanded, but Harry just moved the ice cream further away from me. I rolled my eyes._  
_”Fine. I won’t bite it then. Give it back,” I repeated myself. This time Harry brought the cone closer, but just as I was about to grab it, Harry poked me on the nose with it. I could feel my jaw dropping, as Harry tried to stifle a laugh._  
_He didn’t manage._  
_He burst out laughing, like this was the funniest thing happened to him. I gave him an unimpressed look, well, I tried, but soon enough I was laughing too. I snatched the cone back, along with Harry’s vanilla one. I poked him on the cheek with the white cone, before giving it back to the defenseless, laughing Harry._

_As he finally started to calm down a little, I took a huge bite out of my ice cream, making a point. Harry was smiling widely, but he shook his head._  
_”You’re hopeless, Louis.”_  
_Harry wiped the ice cream off of my nose with his thumb, licking it off of it with his tongue. I did the same to his cheek, just to mock him. Harry giggled, obviously amused by the look on my face, which I assume could’ve been a resting bitch face. Who knows._  
_”We are honestly the cheesiest people on this planet,” I pointed out, biting off the lasts of my ice cream, leaving the cone in my hand._  
_”I wouldn’t say so. There has to be someone cheesier,” Harry concluded, but I shook my head._  
_”I’ll fucking marry you if you’ll find someone cheesier,” I simply stated, eating the cone with one go._  
_”Will you really?” Harry laughed, finishing off his ice cream too._  
_”Yup. Sound good?” I wiggled my eyebrows at Harry, who just laughed, nudging my side._  
_”I’ll remember this Tomlinson.”_  
_”You do that, Haz, you do that."_  
_”Haz? Another nickname?” Harry smiled at me, as we stood up from the ground._  
_”I guess so,” I shrugged as we walked side by side, until we reached the crossroads that separated our ways._  
_”See you tomorrow, Lou,” Harry waved at me and I returned the gesture, walking off._

_Later that night, around eleven maybe, I was lying in my bed at the attic, when my phone pinged, signaling a received message. I grabbed my phone and checked who had messaged me._ _A smile made its way on to my lips as my eyes made out the letters; H A R R Y._

**_H A R R Y_** : are you asleep?   
_**ME** : no._  
_**H A R R Y** : are you in bed?_  
_**ME** : yes, Harold._

_There was a moment of silence and I almost thought that Harry has said all he wanted to say. I had already put the phone away, when it pinged again._

_**H A R R Y** : are you happy Louis?_  
_**ME** : what do you mean? _  
_**H A R R Y** : you know, even though you're here. And not inter railing in Central Europe? _  
_**ME** : I'm happy. _  
_**H A R R Y** : you sure?_  
_**ME** : yes. Are you happy? _  
_**H A R R Y** : that you're here? Yes. _

_I smiled to myself. There's something about Harry that I'll never understand, I figured._

_**ME** : Miss you baby cakes xx. Good night._

_I smiled at the text I typed, knowing full well how Harry was now smiling in his bed, maybe even laughing. The nicknames would be our thing, I decided in that moment._

_**Baby cakes** : miss you too sweet cheeks :) Good night x_


	6. Painting you and me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies at the end of the chapter. ONE IMPORTANT THING TO: IMMA CHANGE TO THE THIRD POV INSTEAD OF THE FIRST ONE (LOUIS')

_The clock was nearing ten, when Louis heard a knock at the door. It's Monday and he is lazing around on the couch. Any other given time, Louis might have just ignored the knock and kept on watching the telly, but since Harry hadn't contacted him at all the day before, he didn't hesitate getting up. Louis would never admit it, but he actually had to calm himself down a little bit before opening the door, to reveal his friend._

_"Good morning", Harry chirps and pushes himself inside, not caring about the fact that he had just squashed Louis' toes._  
_"First of all: ouch. Second of all, where the hell were you all day yesterday?" Louis can't help rolling his eyes as his friend takes his place on the couch._  
_Harry grins at him, his dimples popping out, momentarily taking away Louis' attention._  
_"Why,_ sweet cheeks," _there is a mischievous hint to that already familiar grin now, "did you miss me?"_  
_Oh. Alright. Harry wants to play it this way then. Louis raises his eyebrows at the younger one and takes a few steps, taking a place right on top of Harry, causing the curly haired one to make an 'oompf' noise under him._  
_"Yes, of course I missed you, love", Louis teased, adjusting his head on top of Harry's shoulder._  
_Harry's arms circle around Louis' waist right away and his chest vibrates from the silent chuckle._  
_"So what's the plan for today?" Harry asks then, rubbing Louis' lower back in a soothing manner._

_Louis knows he shouldn't be this aware of that little touch on his body, but for some reason Harry had had this effect on him from the first moment they had met. As much as it puzzles him, he isn't willing to spare the feeling another thought._

_"I don't know. I should be painting the house. That's one of the only jobs nana gave me, but I haven't gotten to it yet," Louis admits, only to be completely thrown off Harry._  
An excited shriek carries through the house, as Harry gives Louis one of his bright smiles.  
_"Then we'll do that. I've always wanted to paint! I'm sure I'm good at it," Harry was already wondering out loud, leaving Louis shaking his head to himself, with a fond smile on his lips._  
_"Whatever you wish. Nana has the paints in the shack outside, I can go pick them up, if you go upstairs and find some paintbrushes. Then we'll just meet outside," Louis was already stands up as was Harry - to be noted that the latter one was singing happily._

_Louis ventures outside to the shack as he wonders what on earth he'd be doing without Harry there. Probably a lot more work, that's for sure. But maybe Holmes Chapel isn't that shitty place after all, he decides when his thoughts flicker to Liam and Niall for a bit, wondering where they might be right now. Maybe Louis should send them a postcard or something, to Italy, where they should be right now._

_As soon as Louis had picked up the blue paint, he made his way back to Harry, only to find the said curly lad standing in front of the house without a shirt. Not going to lie, Louis' eyes were lingering on his upper body for a tad too long - not that he'd actually admit it to himself._

_"Harold. Do you have four nipples?" the question leaving Louis' lips as he reaches his friend._  
_"Uh, right. Like you didn't notice them back when we were swimming," Harry gives Louis an unimpressed look as he takes the paints from the older._  
_"I didn't, I swear."_  
_"Are they a problem? Don't you like my nipples?" there's a hint of playfulness in Harry's eyes and voice as he speaks._  
_"Of course not. See, Harold, I love everything about you. Right from your brown curly locks to your cute love handles right here," Louis teases as he gives Harry's side a squeeze._  
_Harry laughs, but yelps at the same time, slapping Louis' hand away the best he can.  
"Stop it, Lou. We have to start working, I want to get something done today," Harry then settles down with a determined look on his face. Louis can't really do anything else but comply._

\--

_Louis would definitely be lying if he'd say that painting the house wasn't fun. Because it was.  
They are both lying on the grass, shirtless, hands covered in blue paint. Harry's laugh carrying in the evening air as Louis keeps poking his sides. _

_"You know, we should send a postcard to Liam and Niall," the older says as Harry calms down._  
_"Sure, why not. I actually think Marge collected those at some point. She likes them as much as she likes me," Harry jokes, making Louis laugh, even though Louis definitely thinks the joke was lame, if that._  
_"Right. Well, I like you more than postcards, if it's any help," he then says, rolling to his side, facing Harry's profile._  
_Harry follows suit, smiling his dimpled smile as per usual.  
"Of course you do."_

_They lie there, talking about everything and nothing, as the sun keeps making its way down. The shadows are hovering above them already, but they only pull on their shirts, even though Margaret has already told them to come inside. Louis can't find it in himself to get up and go inside, Harry's wonderfulness having already caught him._

_"What are we doing tomorrow, then?" Louis asks, tucking a stray curl behind Harry's ear, as they are now sitting opposite each other. And Louis kinda feels like he's ten years old again._  
_"How about we go camping? Nowhere far, just to have the possibility to make a campfire and sleep in a tent," Harry suggest, with a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he's already planning everything out - which he without a doubt is._  
_Louis shouldn't be thinking about the fact that he'll finally get to spend more then 9 hours straight with Harry, first, but he is._  
"That sounds great," the older nods, making Harry randomly smack a kiss to his cheek .  
_"Boys! Come one inside, I have tea for you," Margaret's voice carries to them for the second time that night, and they have to get up from the lawn._

_"Will you come inside to drink the tea?" Louis asks as Harry seems to hesitate at the door._  
_"I probably should head home. It's already past ten and my mum's waiting for me. I'd love to, though," Harry explains, even though Louis wouldn't require that at all._  
_"How can I make it through the next twelve hours, I wonder," Louis then says with a smirk, making Harry smile again._  
_"I'm sure you'll be able to entertain yourself while I'm gone," there's a flirtatious hint to Harry's tone, making Louis blush slightly._  
_"Right, as if. Now go, shoo. We'll see tomorrow and then I'll get sick of your face and poor flirting attempts for sure," Louis fakes a bored tone, even though his heart isn't really settled, for some reason._

_Harry pouts, but pulls Louis into a hug. They say their goodbyes before Harry disappears on to the street and Louis in to the house. He takes his tea up to the attic, along with the postcards Harry had mentioned._  
He lies on his bed with a pen and one of the postcards, with a view of Mandeville's. It makes Louis smile.  
He opens the cap of the pen and lets his thoughts fall on the cardboard. 

Hey lads!  
How's Italy? Or France? Where ever you are right now. I have to be honest with you: Holmes Chapel wasn't as much of a disappointment as I thought it would be. Sure, it's no central Europe, but it's pretty nice. Nana's really cool about everything and I've actually made a friend, who works at the bakery that's pictured in this card. His name is Harry and I'm telling you lads, he'd be so fooking great addition to our group. Granted, he's two years younger than us, but he's golden, no lie. We started painting the house today and honestly, he cracks me up with his stupid jokes. Ni, I know you'd be so fond of him.  
Anyhow, I think you might hear from me more often from now on, I dig this writing thing.

Louis

_Louis reads the text a couple of times and comes to the conclusion that it's way too sappy and he talks way too much about Harry, but he doesn't change it nevertheless.  
With that, Louis picks up his phone and sends Harry a picture from the text, only to receive an answer a minute later._

_**H A R R Y:** You spelled 'fucking' wrong, Lou. _  
_**L O U I S** : Shut up, curly._  
_**H A R R Y:** Another nickname there, darling_  
_**L O U I S:** Yeah. Are we gonna spent two nights or just one in the wild?_  
_**H A R R Y:** Two. _  
_**L O U I S:** K. Good night love x _  
_**H A R R Y:** Goodnight sweet tums xx _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, I know, but don't judge me. Or do, because I've been horribly busy and have totally neglected this fic. So sorry xx. It is a short one but I'll try to write the next chapter longer with the camping thing and all. Yeah, so. Sorry again.


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